The global crypto wave is catching on in Asia as businesses warm up to stablecoins
From online travel agencies and luxury goods resellers to high-end hotels, companies are embracing stablecoin for payments, citing both speed and cost-efficiency compared to the traditional financial system.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies usually pegged to sovereign currencies or even gold, making them more stable compared to other crypto assets.
Hong Kong's new legislation, set to take effect Friday, will formalise the framework for financial firms to issue and manage these virtual assets, similar to the US GENIUS Act.
Cryptocurrency wallet platforms allow customers to pay via digital currencies, which are then converted into stablecoins or local fiat currencies while being credited to merchants, minimising price volatility and settlement risk for businesses, according to several crypto industry veterans and business owners.
Monthly stablecoin transaction volumes between businesses had surged to more than $US3 billion ($4.6b) by early 2025, from under $US100 million at the start of 2023, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Artemis from May.
The report was based on a survey of 31 stablecoin-based payment firms that process transactions on behalf of end users globally.
Unlike conventional cross-border bank transfers that can take several days and incur steep processing fees, stablecoin transactions are nearly instantaneous and substantially cheaper, experts pointed out.
'What blockchain is able do is to facilitate transactions between parties with less counterparty risks,' Ben El-Baz, head of global expansion at cryptocurrency exchange Hashkey Global, said. Blockchain is a technology used for keeping account of crypto transactions.
'For cross-border payments, instead of having to go from originating bank to intermediary to correspondent bank, then down to the beneficiary . . . stablecoins transferred via blockchain are basically an exchange of value that happens instantaneously,' he added.
That has attracted the interest of major payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, all of which have begun integrating stablecoin support into their payment infrastructure.
The momentum has been further fueled by the regulatory development in the US in the past two months.
The listing of USD Coin-issuer Circle in June along with President Donald Trump's GENIUS Act have sparked broader interest in digital payments across Asia.
'Stablecoin has surely emerged as a supplementary currency to the conventional fiat currencies,' Alice Liu, founder and CEO of dtcpay, said. The Singapore-based fintech company helps clients process stablecoin payments and convert them into fiat currencies.
Dtcpay's clients include Chinese businesses with legal entities in Singapore and Hong Kong to settle stablecoin payments into preferred currencies, often US dollar, Singapore dollar or Chinese offshore yuan.
Singapore-based travel agency Wetrip, which specialises in organising group tours to China, began accepting stablecoin payments in June. It accepts them via digital wallets such as the one offered by the world's top crypto exchange, Coinbase, lured by faster settlement and significant cost savings.
'The lengthy processing period and hefty transaction fees with traditional banking network were real pain points,' Vincent Xue, the company's founder and CEO, told CNBC. He added that if his suppliers were to start accepting stablecoin, he would not need to convert them back into local fiat money, allowing his entire payment stack to operate fully on blockchain.
Global stablecoin payment volumes hit $US94.2b over the two years ending February, with business-to-business transactions accounting for one third of the flows, according to Artemis.
Stablecoin payments by consumers directly to businesses are also on the rise, climbing to over $US300m a month early this year from just $US50m in early 2023.
Singapore and Hong Kong were among the top three markets for stablecoin flows, just following the US. The Singapore-China route, in particular, emerged as the busiest for stablecoin flows, the report said, while the next seven largest corridors all involved the US.
Among retailers, many luxury businesses are embracing blockchain payments, with more high-end brands adopting stablecoin-to-fiat transactions for high-value purchases, citing speed, higher upper limits on transaction value as key advantages.
Capella Hotel, a Singapore-based high-end hotel group, started allowing guests to complete transactions using digital currencies in October last year, due to 'growing demand (for) secure and convenient payment option,' according to its statement.
Ginza Xiaoma, a specialist collector and reseller for Hermes Birkin handbags, began accepting stablecoin payments in Singapore earlier this year, as several local customers requested to pay in cryptocurrencies.
The boutique handbag reseller is eyeing to expand crypto payments in its Hong Kong branch in the coming months, as well as in its Tokyo branch in the next few years.
'More payment options mean a higher chance of sealing the deal,' Qian Zhou, director of sales at Ginza Xiaoma, told CNBC. Zhou's outlet mostly sells to customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, the U.S. and Europe.
About 3 per cent of the company's transactions are currently settled in stablecoins — a share that could climb to as much as 20 per cent by year-end, Zhou estimates, translating into half a million Singapore dollars in monthly revenue.
Chinese government has traditionally imposed stringent restrictions on crypto activity, citing concerns over financial stability, fraud and capital flight. Signaling a shift in policy direction, Shanghai government in July convened a work group, vowing to deepen their understanding of how to use blockchain technology in cross-border trades.
While Beijing sticks to a conservative stance in mainland China, Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of the country, has emerged as a regulatory sandbox for Beijing with the aim of preserving its global edge in financial innovation.
A slew of mainland-listed fintech companies recently announced plans related to stablecoin usage. Shenzhen-listed Yusys Technologies said in July that it is exploring real-world applications for introducing stablecoin payments into everyday retail scenes.
Both JD.com and Ant Financial have plans to issue stablecoin backed by the Hong Kong dollar, after the new legislation takes effects Friday.
'As more regulatory clarity comes out around stable coins. The ability of stablecoin payment networks replacing SWIFT-based payment networks is very high,' Hashkey's Mr El-Baz said. SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, is the dominant network for international money transfers.
'We're really just on the cusp of this,' he added.
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